A lifeboat crewman was forced to jump into the Bristol Channel to rescue a man whose yacht had run aground.

The man got into difficulty on Sunday afternoon in the strong winds off Clevedon beach.

When crews arrived, there was only one metre of water around the yacht so a crew member had to get out and swim to it to tow it out of danger.

It soon became clear that yacht was in serious danger of being turned on to its side. It was clear that the yacht was now crashing down directly on the sea bed. The volunteer crew had to work quickly and professionally to decide the best way to assist the person on the yacht. This was going to be a tricky manoeuvre for the volunteers.

– Dave Herbert, Lifeboat spokesman

The yacht was towed to Portishead Marina where it was handed over to the Portishead Coastguards.